The PSC looks to
attract, recruit and
nurture outstanding
individuals to serve
Singapore and
Singaporeans through a
career in the Singapore
Public Service.
In the Singapore Public Service, a fulfilling
career awaits those who find meaning
in serving the public and who constantly
think of new ways to better the lives of fellow
Singaporeans.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) offers
scholarships to individuals who seek a career
where they can contribute to Singapore and
Singaporeans. Two PSC scholarship holders,
Ng Qi Sheng and Soh Li Hui, both exemplify the
passion to serve the public through their work
in the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the
Ministry of Health (MOH) respectively.
Implementing sustainable policies
Qi Sheng is part of MOM’s Foreign Workforce
Policy Department (FWPD), which aims to
support Singapore’s economic growth and
competitiveness. As a Senior Manager, he
advances the FWPD’s mission by helping to
develop manpower policies for Singapore’s
Construction and Manufacturing sectors.
He tells us, “Designing a well-crafted
manpower policy is never just about simple
maximisation of desired goals or minimisation
of undesired outcomes, as there are many valid
competing interests and numerous ways to
achieve a single outcome.”
For instance, he explains that raising
Singapore’s workforce labour productivity is
essential to improving workers' wage outcomes.
One way to achieve this is to encourage firms
to reduce their reliance on lower-skilled foreign
workers. However, if this is done too hastily,
or if the skills of the other workers are not
upgraded, firms' business operations will suffer.
“Firms will eventually be forced to trim local
employment and wages, and such an outcome
is undesirable for all,” he adds.
Ng Qi Sheng
PSC Scholarship Recipient
Designation:
Senior Manager,
Foreign Workforce Policy Department,
Ministry of Manpower
Studied:
Master of Science in Financial Economics,
Oxford University, UK
Bachelor of Science in Biomedical
Engineering and Economics,
Duke University, US
"It
is only through listening and observing that we
can really understand what people really need
and craft appropriate policy responses."
Li Hui is a Health Policy Analyst in MOH’s
Sector Development and Commissioning
Division. Her team works closely with private
healthcare providers to explore avenues for the
public to receive subsidised care.
She shares, “Public healthcare institutions
provide good-quality and affordable care to the general public. Nevertheless, private healthcare
institutions are also important players in
Singapore’s healthcare landscape, providing
approximately 20 per cent of Singapore’s acute
healthcare services.
“We also work with other agencies including
MOH Holdings and the Singapore Civil
Defence Force to forge important partnerships
and implement our projects. These include
establishing essential IT systems, clinical
and operational protocols, as well as public
communication channels to ensure that
patients have a seamless healthcare system to
support their recovery process.”
An eventful pre-career journey
Even before they assumed their current
roles, both Qi Sheng and Li Hui went through
leadership development programmes and were
exposed to work in the Public Service through
internships during their undergraduate studies.
These invaluable opportunities helped to widen
their perspectives and prepared them for a
career in the Public Service.
Qi Sheng joined a rowing team during his
undergraduate years at Duke University in the
US because he relished new challenges out of
his comfort zone. In his opinion, communication
and synchronisation with teammates are key to
this sport.
He adds, “Most of my teammates – myself
included – were new to the sport. We quickly
realised the importance of working together
as moving your oars just a fraction out of step
in a four-man boat is enough to flip it over! But
we never gave up no matter how many times
we capsized as we believed that, together, we
would eventually be greater than the sum of our
individual efforts.
Soh Li Hui
PSC Scholarship Recipient
Designation:
Health Policy Analyst,
Sector Development and Commissioning Division,
Ministry of Health
Studied:
Master of Science (Bioengineering),
Stanford University, US
Bachelor of Engineering (Biomedical Engineering),
Tsinghua University, China
“It was intensely fulfilling when, in the span
of a few short months, we were able to develop
from an uncoordinated bunch of novices into a
team that gave experienced competitive rowers
a tough fight. My experience reinforced the
importance of teamwork and perseverance,
both essential traits any Public Officer should
possess.”
Both scholarship holders also learned
from internships which helped them to
understand the Public Service better ahead of
their postings. On her part, Li Hui took up two
internships in Singapore and Beijing. Her first
internship at MOH required her to examine how
design principles could be applied to streamline
the financial counselling process in public
hospitals, making it more fuss-free for patients
and their families. “MOH’s patient-centric
approach and emphasis on understanding
patients' experiences from their point of view
left a deep impression on me,” she muses.
Her second internship programme was at
CapitalBio, a Chinese life science corporation
based in Beijing. She helped to develop a data
acquisition system and had the opportunity
to observe the development process of a
biomedical instrument from ideation to
production. “This internship gave me a glimpse
of the rapidly growing biomedical industry in
China and the vast diversity and potential of
China’s economy,” she tells us.
Growing through opportunities
Both Qi Sheng and Li Hui agree that the
Service provided opportunities to be exposed
to varied experiences and that honed their
professional development – one example is
the chance to observe operations in various
Ministries through secondments and cross-agency
postings.
Qi Sheng's current role in MOM is his second
posting, after having spent his first posting
in MOH. During his time there, he reviewed
the design and regulation of Integrated Shield
Plans as part of a comprehensive re-look of
health insurance plans under the MediShield
Life review. This portfolio required him to
understand what Singaporeans needed out of
their health insurance plans and if there were
any gaps to be bridged.
Qi Sheng says honesty and humility are two
essential characteristics for those aspiring to
be public officers. He expounds, “No one has a
monopoly on good ideas – it’s important to learn
from everyone and anyone so that the policy
'end-product' can be as robust as possible. It
is only through listening and observing that we
can really understand what people really need
and craft appropriate policy responses.”
Li Hui has just begun her Public Service career
and is determined to work hard to hone her
analytical capabilities and leadership skills. She
enthuses, “I look forward to future postings to
gain greater exposure of the unique challenges
each agency faces, broaden my skillsets, and
learn how different stakeholders work together
to achieve whole-of-government objectives
while strategically managing trade-offs.”
She advises aspiring PSC scholarship
applicants to seek out opportunities to better
understand the scholarship and career
prospects in the Public Service. She concludes,
“It is important for a career to be aligned with
your values and personal goals. If you identify
with the values of the Public Service and believe
that it is your calling in life, I believe you will go
far!”